View full sizeRick Bella/The OregonianActors in police garb get set to shoot an episode of NBC-TV's "Grimm" under the Oregon 99E bridge in Oregon City. The production crew expected to work a 14-hour shoot for scenes to be used in Episode 19, which will air at least six weeks from now.

OREGON CITY -- Alert Clackamas County viewers will be looking for local landmarks in an upcoming episode of NBC TV's "Grimm."

Scenes for Episode 19, expected to air at least six weeks from now, were shot today at Clackamette Park.

An army of behind-the-camera personnel is occupying a big chunk of the park to support production for the paranormal cop drama. The production was to come alive this afternoon, with a 3 p.m. call, but activity was slow to build. The crew expects to shoot through the night until about 5 a.m. Saturday.

A herd of tractor-trailer rigs is lined up in the overflow parking lot and the lots closest to the Oregon 99E bridge are cordoned off to keep the curious at bay.

Meanwhile, a squad of Portland police cars -- the show is set in Portland -- sits at the ready. Rack after rack of lights, costumes and props line the walkways to and from the sets along the Willamette River, where the actors and last-minute makeup artists make their magic.

A couple of enormous crane-mounted high-powered lights are poised to hang over the sets, turning night to day or accentuate the shadows the show thrives in.

View full sizeRick Bella/The OregonianAn army of production people take over a large section of Clackamette Park, assembling sets, lighting, prop trailers, catering and a myriad of support functions for the show.

"Grimm," for the uninitiated, is the story of a Portland homicide detective who discovers he descended from a long line of Grimms, mystics-cum-criminal profilers who are charged with keeping mythological creatures from upsetting the precarious applecart we call humanity. These mythological baddies, generally inspired by Grimms' Fairy Tales, emerge from the Dark Side to create all sorts of tension for an earnest, devilishly handsome cop and his equally handsome sidekick.

Playing that nasty counterpoint is why one of the actors is covered today from head to waist in ghostly white makeup and powders -- a sort of un-dead look sure to get law enforcement aroused.

The 14-hour shoot is expected to yield less than a half-hour of usable footage. But what makes it into the final production is -- as always -- up to the editors.